Page 59 - Pakistan

Objective view emerging in Pak: MEA on Sharif's comments on Lahore pact

Days after former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif admitted that Islamabad had violated the Lahore pact, India on Thursday said an objective view is emerging on the issue in the neighbouring country. Sharif on Tuesday said Islamabad had "violated" an agreement with India signed by him and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999, in an apparent reference to the Kargil misadventure by General Pervez Musharraf. "You are aware of our position on the issue. I need not have to reiterate that. We note that there is an objective view emerging in Pakistan as well on this matter," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. He was replying to a question on the matter at his weekly media briefing. After a historic summit in Lahore, then Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee and Sharif signed the Lahore Declaration on February 21, 1999. The agreement that talked about a vision of peace and stability between the two neighbouring countries signalled a breakthrough.

What is the 1999 Lahore Declaration that Nawaz Sharif says Pak violated?

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif admitted that Islamabad had violated an agreement with India, co-signed by him and ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999

Pak violated Lahore Agreement; Kargil war our fault: Nawaz Sharif

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on Tuesday, admitted that Islamabad had “violated” a pact with India that he and former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had signed in 1999. What

Increase taxes anymore and we leave: British American Tobacco to Pak govt

Multinational company warns country's leadership against increasing taxes on tobacco

28 killed, 22 injured as speeding bus plunges into ravine in Pakistan

At least 28 people, including women and children, were killed on Wednesday in Pakistan after a speeding passenger bus veered off the road and fell into a ravine in the remote Balochistan province, according to media reports. The bus, heading from Turbat to Quetta, fell into the ravine near Washuk town, around 700 kilometres from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. The accident was a result of overspeeding, according to the report, which said that women and children were among the deceased. The accident took place after the tyre of the passenger bus burst, Geo News reported quoting rescue officials. At least 28 people were killed in the accident. About 22 people sustained injuries in the accident and were sent to the Civil Hospital in Basima. Road accidents are common in Pakistan where traffic rules and safety standards are hardly followed. On May 18, at least 13 people belonging to the same family were killed and nine others were injured as a truck plunged into a ditch i

With Kargil War, we violated the Lahore Declaration, says ex-Pak PM Nawaz

Pakistan violated the Lahore Declaration that was signed between former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the then Prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee on February 21, 1999

Pakistan abandoned

Hard economic decisions will help its future

Ex-Pak PM Nawaz Sharif set to be re-elected as PML-N president after 6 yrs

Three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is set to be re-elected as the President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party here on Tuesday, six years after losing the post following a Supreme Court ruling in the Panama Papers case. The Dawn newspaper reported that the General Council meeting is set to take place at a local hotel. It is likely that the 74-year-old veteran politician, who returned to Pakistan in October last year after a four-year self-imposed exile in the UK, will be elected unopposed even though as many as 11 party members have received the nomination papers for the top post, the report said. The PML-N had earlier announced convening the general council meeting on May 11 but it was postponed to coincide with the celebration of 26 years of Pakistan becoming a nuclear power, the report said. PML-N Punjab president Rana Sanaullah, while addressing a press conference, hinted that the elder Sharif would be elected without a contest. Responding to a

1998 nuke tests ensured 'credible minimum deterrence', says Pak PM Sharif

Commemorating the 26th anniversary of Pakistan's first successful nuclear tests, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said it encapsulates the arduous yet remarkable path of the country towards establishing a "credible minimum deterrence. Pakistan conducted six nuclear tests on May 28, 1998, inside a deeply dug tunnel in the remote Chaghi mountain of Balochistan province, as a tit-for-tat response to India's nuclear tests in the same month at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range. Pakistan's nuclear tests, state-run Radio Pakistan, said was conducted in response to the regional security dynamics and one that ensured that Pakistan's defence capabilities were robust and credible. Pakistan became the seventh nuclear nation in the world and the first Muslim state in 1998 having the nuclear arsenal in its defence stockpile to exercise deterrence. Designated as Youm-e-Takbeer, translated as the day of greatness' or the day of God's greatness', and observed annually with national zeal

Nearly 1,400 students escape from school building engulfed by fire in Pak

Nearly 1,400 girl students had a lucky escape on Monday when they were safely evacuated from a school building that was engulfed by a massive fire in a remote mountainous region of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to a media report. Geo News spoke to a rescue official who said the fire swept through the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Haripur district's Sirikot village while hundreds of students were inside. Firefighters along with the local residents began putting off the blaze, he said. The official said the fire brigade vehicles faced trouble reaching the site of the incident because of the mountainous terrain. Haripur's Rescue 1122 spokesperson Faraz Jalal said there were about 1,400 students and all of them were safely evacuated from the school building, the report said. The spokesperson said the blaze badly damaged the entire school building. The rescue department confirmed that no loss of life occurred and said half of the school building was ...

Hand over terrorists involved in Chinese workers attack: Pak to Afghanistan

Pakistan on Sunday asked Afghanistan's Taliban government to hand over banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) terrorists involved in a deadly attack on Chinese workers to Islamabad, according to a media report. Five Chinese were among six persons killed when an explosives-packed vehicle rammed into their bus in the troubled province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in March, in the second suicide attack on the personnel working on the China-backed hydropower project since 2021. The Chinese were working on the Dasu hydropower project, which is about 300 km to the north of Islamabad. The 4,320 MW project is being constructed by China Gezhouba with funding from the World Bank. "Whether Afghanistan try the terrorists (in the court of law) or not, it should hand over the militants to Pakistan," Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said while addressing a joint press conference flanked by officials of the National Counter-Terrorism Authority. In view of the investigation report, the minister said that

Pak PM Sharif to visit China next month for launch of 2nd phase of CPEC

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will visit China in the first week of next month to join the formal launching of the second phase of the USD 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, according to a media report on Saturday. A source in the Prime Minister's Office told the Dawn newspaper that Prime Minister Sharif was scheduled to leave for China on June 4, but the date of the visit could slightly be changed. The CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan's Balochistan with China's Xinjiang province, is opposed by India as it is being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Infrastructure and energy projects were part of the CPEC's first phase. In CPEC-II, both countries will focus on agriculture, Main Line-I of Pakistan Railways, businessmen-to-businessmen deals and realignment of the Karakoram Highway (KKH) etc. While presiding over a meeting of representatives of Chinese companies on Friday, the prime minister said that Pakistan wanted to benefit from Chinese ..

Pakistan says United Arab Emirates to invest $10 billion in country

The Pakistani government said Thursday that the United Arab Emirates committed to investing up to $10 billion in Pakistan during a meeting in the UAE capital between that country's president and the Pakistani prime minister. The office of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement that UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan made the commitment during a meeting in Abu Dhabi with Sharif, who is visiting the UAE. It provided few details. The statement said Sharif told the UAE president about measures the Pakistani government is taking to encourage foreign investment, and that the UAE president committed to investing $10 billion in various sectors in Pakistan. Sharif also invited the UAE president to visit Pakistan, an offer which he accepted, the statement said.

After high transportation costs, Pak mangoes suffer due to climate change

Already battered by the spike in input costs, Pakistan's mango production is set to significantly reduce for a third year running due to the impact of climate change and a scaled-down export target for 2024. Industry leaders, fruit farmers, exporters and weather scientists are all worried about the increasing impact of climate change that will not just reduce the mango yield but also decrease the foreign exchange and have claimed that the government has not done anything to mitigate the losses. The All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers, Merchants Association has set a target of 1,00,000 metric tonnes of mango exports in the current season but says that they may not even be able to achieve that. This target translates to approximately USD 90 million of export income. Pakistan's mangoes are exported mainly to China, the USA, Turkey, Japan, Iran, Afghanistan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Central Asian countries. Mangoes are the most exported fruit from Pakistan because of

Pakistan's GDP grows 2.09% in Q3 supported by higher growth in agriculture

The bureau revised the first and second quarter GDP estimates for financial year 2023-2024 to 2.71 per cent and 1.79 per cent respectively, compared to earlier estimates of 2.5 per cent and 1 per cent

Congress let national interest suffer in dealing with Pak, says PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hit out at the Congress for "orchestrating endorsements" from Pakistani leaders for electoral gains and said the opposition party often let national interest suffer when it came to dealing with Pakistan. In an exclusive interview to PTI here, the prime minister also slammed the Congress for statements by its leaders questioning the surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Air Force in Balakot in response to the 2019 terror attack in Pulwama. "Well, politicians from Pakistan are entering the electoral discourse of India by endorsing the Congress party's 'shehzada'," Modi said in response to a question on Pakistani leaders commenting on elections in India. Former Pakistani minister Chaudhary Fawad Hussain had shared a video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on social media and praised him. "Perhaps the Congress party thinks orchestrating such endorsements will serve it well. That is how disconnected they are from ground realities. Further, it is also

Are those mimes spying on us? In Pakistan, it's not a strange question

Today, the "golden men" of Islamabad have been added to the ranks of the conspiracy theories sprouted, knocked down and rehashed every day across the city

Trade ties with India suspended due to heavy duties': Pak's Ishaq Dar

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that trade ties between Islamabad and New Delhi have remained suspended since 2019 due to the imposition of "heavy duties by India on imports from Pakistan after the Pulwama attack. In a written reply submitted to the National Assembly on Saturday, Dar, who also holds the deputy prime minister's slot, said: India decided to impose 200 per cent duty on imports from Pakistan, suspended the Kashmir bus service and trade across the Line of Control after the Pulwama attack. According to the Dawn newspaper, Dar was responding to a question by Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Sharmila Faruqui seeking details about trade challenges faced by Pakistan in its relations with neighbouring countries, especially India. In March, during a press conference in London, Dar highlighted the eagerness of Pakistan's business community to resume trade activities with India. However, his office later clarified that Pakistan has no plan to resume trade relations with India

Protests in PoK result of Pak's policy of plundering of resources: Govt

India on Friday said the protests witnessed in several parts of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) are a "natural consequence" of Islamabad's continued policy of systemic plundering of resources from the region that remains under its "forcible and illegal" occupation. India also asserted that the entire Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh "have been, are and shall always remain integral parts of India". Violent protests erupted in PoK over rising costs of food, fuel and essential utilities as Pakistan reels under a severe economic crisis. "We have seen reports on protests in several areas of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir," external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. He was responding to a question on the protests in PoK. "We believe that it is a natural consequence of Pakistan's continued policy of systemic plundering of resources from these territories which remain under its forcible and illegal occupation," Jaiswal .

Pak mulls 5-yr extension on $15.5 bn Chinese debt amid IMF loan talks

Amidst talks with the International Monetary Fund about a fresh loan, cash-strapped Pakistan is contemplating seeking a five-year extension on the USD 15.5 billion debt in the Chinese energy sector, it emerged on Friday. The consent of the Chinese government as well as its Independent Power Producers' (IPPs) operating in Pakistan is mandatory to alter the existing contracts, which might require long negotiations to clinch the desired results, The News reported. If the government decides to make a formal request to China, then it will require long negotiations, the paper reported, and highlighted various options. One of the options is to reduce the tariff for consumers by Rs 1.1 from 2024-2029, and Rs 0.9 from 2030 to 2040. So, in totality, the average tariff will reduce by Rs 0.18 kWh from 2024 to 2040 with an extension in the tenor of debt for five years from 2036-2041, the report said, quoting top official sources. According to the official workings done by the relevant ministrie